Indigenisation of Knowledge Through Deploying the Internet

As mentioned earlier on, the Internet and its accompanying technologies like the development of seamless and hypermedia documents is gradually finding its place in many organisations - especially large private sector organisations, NGOs and some government departments. The potential of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to bring about social, political and economic changes can be seen from two angles - the dissemination of information through web sites and interactive communication through the web sites and email. CD-ROMs and the Internet have become useful to access digital information created outside the country.

What is needed are strategies and flexible approaches that can be followed in the systematic gathering and creation of information resources from local sources, combine it with externally generated information to make it meaningful for people living in those settings. The information will have that cutting edge to create relevant knowledge that can be used in various socio-economic development activities.

How do you go about creating information resources that will impact on development? D. Michael Warren et al (1995) calls this 'humanising the economic development process'. Humanise new technologies - use them innovatively to suit local contexts i.e. make them serve the people and not the other way round. The fascination should not be about the technical aspects of a web site, it should be about how the web site is meeting a need or a want in a creative and innovative way. Warren and others call for the creation of indigenous knowledge. According to them indigenous knowledge is:

"The knowledge that is unique to a given culture or society". This "contrasts with the international knowledge system which is generated through the global network of universities and research institutes. Endogenous knowledge is important as it forms the information base for a society, which facilitates effective communication and decision-making at both local and national levels. By taking time and effort to document these systems, they become accessible to change agents and client groups. A relationship based on understanding and respect helps to establish an environment conducive to participatory approaches to decision-making in development".

The IMF, the Economic Commission for Africa, WHO, UNESCO among other international bodies have acknowledged 'the cultural dimension' of development strategies. What is needed more in the light of this evidence is to contextulise information available on the web. True development should eradicate the retrogressive notions popularised by 19th Century social science and colonialism that 'non-European knowledge systems are primitive and have little to offer to the world.' (Warren, op cit). These knowledge systems have accumulated over generations and are important national and international resources.

The neglect of the value of information and knowledge on the part of people in most developing settings like Asia and Africa can't be blamed solely on the indigenous population. The mentality fostered through many years of colonialism and imperialism was that indigenous behaviour and knowledge about their environment was not worth recording. This consequently led to the people in those countries not bothering to record and use their previously acquired information and knowledge for social and economic progress. This is still true today where most African governments for example don't fully use their own indigenous experts and would rather consult experts from abroad - there is no shortage of Africans in any field now and in the future! One of the major reasons why there is a brain drain from the motherland is because of the existing negative political and economic environments. These people would rather use their know-how in the resident countries where people appreciate their skills better than in their home countries.

What has been shown time and time again is that local people know a lot about their environment than they have been given credit for. Janis B Alcorn (1995) talks about "ethnobotanical knowledge systems". This is knowledge that rural people have about plants and their medicinal uses.

Anthropologists and sociologists are now involved in the design and management of development programmes, their concepts and involvement have led to the success of many projects (M/M Cernea, 1994).

The methodology of developing the content being delivered by new Information Technologies like the Internet is still top-down. There is no evident move to incorporate a participatory approach in the development of these information resources - whether by private sector or public sector institutions. This has to be addressed now rather than later. The sad thing is that the Internet hype has taken over before a full maturity of this revolutionary technology that can lead to the improvement of the information services subsequently affecting every form of human activity at grassroots level. The radio is one communication technology that has been well adapted successfully for local uses the world over. Unlike the radio, the Internet can give people choice to access information that is relevant to their needs and the consequent gains, like an improvement in educational services is one example among many.

Traditional library and archival systems are poorly resourced and developed in many of those countries. The Internet presents the greatest opportunity to leap-frog the development of such fundamental 'infostructures' by developing dynamic web based digital libraries.

The whole purpose of this tutorial is encourage the formulation of strategies that can be used to take a stock-take of the information resources in various socio-economic sectors and make them available in a digital format for access predominantly via the Internet.

Information for Developer